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Interview with Fukuma umi |
Home > Designer Interviews > Fukuma umi |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Fukuma umi (FU) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Fukuma umi by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
FU: That's why I became an artist. When I was a student, I vaguely wanted to be an advertising photographer. However, I was frustrated because I was not good at working as a group, and I wondered if I could do it alone. And I realized that I could shoot landscapes (natural things) by myself, and it became my style.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
FU: I don't have my company or studio. but I want it.
FS: What is "design" for you?
FU: I think the work is my own. It's philosophical, but I think experience is the reason I am. In other words, I have yesterday, so I have today. My work is my own because it is a work that expresses the experience I have seen and the experience I have been in it.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
FU: I like what I don't understand. Strange and overwhelming. I also like people who are hard to understand.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
FU: It is a portrait drawn by Giacometti. It was just a black lump written on paper, but it was very heavy, and there was certainly that person there.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
FU: Nothing
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
FU: This is Honda motorcycle PCX. I used to ride the same Honda Scoopy. Certainly, that motorcycle hasn't broken down at all and has helped me make it for ten years. But since switching to PCX a year ago, my range of action has clearly expanded and my fatigue has decreased. Production is really fun now.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
FU: I don't know if I'm shooting, retouching, or before I'm shooting, but it's when I get inspired. It's not always, but I've always been waiting. I'm doing a lot of my life, waiting for inspiration.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
FU: First is the appearance. If it looks bad, there is little inspiration. But it doesn't have to be beautiful or unbeautiful. I feel it or not. Only those with great inspiration will remain.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
FU: I became glued to my work. I want to forget the time and show it to someone right now. Wait a minute! Still, the details are not yet complete. No, it's all. Start over!!
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
FU: I decided it was incomplete. My appearance changes in every environment and sentiment, so it's always paused.
FS: What makes a design successful?
FU: It is prepared to throw away "good". It's very pleasant to get likes from people, but there is nothing really good there.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
FU: It is a lie or a truth. Isn't there a lie in my work? Are they all true? What does all really mean? Can my lie not be revealed? Is it a good lie or a lie that should not be revealed? If it's a good lie, it's a show, and the lie that can't be revealed is bad. It shouldn't be.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
FU: I think the one who likes my work is a lonely person. So I want to keep a good sense of distance, not too close or too far away from them.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
FU: Is the design field really evolving? I feel that design and planning are just being pursued without any fundamental desire. I think I have learned that it is degenerate.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
FU: Last exhibition was TokyoFrontLine#6 competition awards at G/P gallery Tokyo, Japan 2016. Next You can do it wherever you want me.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
FU: Memories of the past, knowledge, inspiration, encounters, health, and hunger. Past experiences tell me that I am lonely, and knowledge makes me realize that I am a flimsy person. The inspiration reminds me that I am still young, and the encounter tells me that I am incompetent. Being healthy is nothing but hunger makes me aware of the rest of my life. that is all.
FS: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
FU: I just want to look more strongly at what I see. Up until now, I have wanted many people to see my work. However, in reality, I could not see much. When I went to the gallery to show my work, I was rarely welcomed. So I decided not to show it anymore. If I didn't see it even if I showed it to people who didn't see it, I wanted to make it more visible only to those who would. As a result, the work became more internal and unique.
FS: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
FU: I live in the suburbs about 30 minutes by train from Tokyo, Japan. I have lived here since I was born. Up until recently, there was a field in front of the house in the hilly area. It is also a place where wild animals temporarily live in our house. My production mainly shoots the Japanese climate. In that respect, living here is an advantage. And in recent years, I've been shooting at a place where I can take a day trip by motorcycle from home. The reason is low budget. And one more thing, in the context of Japanese photography, shooting near a house has a big meaning, and I followed it. However, this meant that the work did not spread to me. That is a disadvantage. I would like to expand my range of activities in the future.
FS: How do you work with companies?
FU: Nothing
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
FU: The image I can produce is narrow. Also, the less instructions you have, the better.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
FU: Go to the mountain pass by motorcycle with a camera and a little drink. Why go there? I found a tree suitable for shooting at that place before, and I flashed when I saw a map that I had only been able to reach before that time. For that reason there is no deep insight. Recently, I can only find one or two subjects a day. I'm very lucky to find four. Before shooting, I walk to observe the subject from various distances in order to find a sense of distance to the subject. Find the front of the subject. At this time, I usually hum about one of my favorite books. It's like a prayer to God. For shooting, change the aperture and shoot 3 or 4 shots. When the sun goes down and the focus is lost, shooting for the day ends. Returning home, check the focus of the deliverables, and retouch the gap between the deliverables and inspiration obtained from the subject before shooting. Search for the important essence of the subject in the process of approaching inspiration to some extent. We create a state where only the essence can be seen, and then retouch the photo to cut back and forth between the state where the detail can be seen. It takes tens of minutes at the earliest, and usually takes days to weeks to complete. Attempts to complete it while sometimes redoing or discarding everything.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
FU: Black bowl made by art college student, The object of the root of the tree picked up in the mountain, Handmade wide table,
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
FU: sorry, it's difficult.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
FU: I know that what can be said to everyone does not resonate with anyone.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
FU: I think a designer is a way of life, not a profession. So I think that I should continue to make it without worrying about success or failure.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
FU: To see what you see.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
FU: Communication skills if you are a designer as a profession. If you are a designer as a way of life, think while moving your hands.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
FU: books "With Giacometti" Isaku Yanaihara, 1969 "Man’s Search For Meaning" Viktor Emil Frankl, 1946
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
FU: i don't know, because I always keep going until it's over.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
FU: It takes 30 minutes at the earliest and 3 months or more at the longest.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
FU: Why do you shoot trees or forests?
FS: What was your most important job experience?
FU: I had a trip for a total of one month 10 years ago. For the first time, I traveled for production. And the production style hasn't changed since that time.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
FU: Not yet
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
FU: I like existential paintings. I have seen many art works since modern times, but I could see Monet and Giacometti for a long time. Monet had the experience that the image would be blurred if he approached. Giacometti is heavy on the picture anyway. Not a feeling of weight. Other painters, such as Picasso, were good at painting when they were young, but not so well after Cubism. Art after conceptual art is interesting in the sense that it makes you laugh, but that's it. There is no weight.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
FU: I am thinking of exhibiting outside of Japan. I hope I can find a good place somewhere.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
FU: design myself.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
FU: Now I am shooting people, especially dancers. I also shoot as personal things and works.
FS: How can people contact you?
FU: e-mail is better. fukumaumi@gmail.com
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A’ Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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